The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects recently unveiled the winners of its annual design awards, and we were excited to see that eight of the top designs were focused around sustainable features. The AIA NY based their scores on quality of design, innovation, technique and response to context and community, and only 21 projects made it to the cream of the crop. The selected works will be on exhibit at the Center for Architecture from April 18th through May 31st, but if you'd like to get a glimpse of the eight green winners ahead of time, click through our photo gallery now.

Won Dharma Center, Claverack, NY – Architecture Honor Award Winner

This 22,000 square foot retreat built for the Won Buddhists of North America is outfitted with geothermal heating and solar hot water and the exteriors were covered in FSC-certified eastern white cedar. Reverend Chung Ohun Lee — a leader at the center — wanted to add green elements to the new upgrades after being inspired by energy-saving design at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

LM Guest House, Dutchess County, NY – Architecture Merit Award Winner

This house in upstate New York sits on the center of a farm property among a beautiful landscape and an abundance of greenery. Featuring geothermal heating and cooling, motorized solar shading, photovoltaic panels, and rainwater harvesting, this glass front home is equally efficient and breathtaking.

Bay House, Noyack, NY – Architecture Merit Award Winner

This 6,400 square foot home is located on the Long Island Shore and boasts natural light, openness and spectacular views. Adding in elements of sustainable design and spatial planning, the residence also has geothermal elements and solar shading for climate responsiveness.

The college’s newly built 625,000 square foot building doubled the size of John Jay’s previous campus with additional class rooms, laboratories outdoor dining and public spaces. A roof terrace features 65,000 square feet of landscaped grassy zones for outdoor student and faculty gathering.

Previously off limits to the public for over 300 years, this $12 billion dollar redevelopment project will incorporate a public park, amphitheater and performance space and makes use of the structure’s two canals and a river. The new space will combine cultural elements of the city in addition to providing functional circulation with gardens and views down into the buildings.

This site brings an approach to the landscape that envisions a model of urban ecology and re-imagines open spaces and access from the water’s edge to the surrounding community. With dynamic views of the Manhattan skyline, the goal in this project is to provide an international platform for innovative sustainable thinking by creating a cultural and recreational destination.

With a focus on the issue of stormwater retention this design investigated the reuse of former military vessels on the Brooklyn waterfront to create a riparian buffer zone that deals with issues of surges and flood management in New York Harbor. In contrast to keeping the water out, this is designed to let the water in to share within the existing estuary.